Day two of Morgan County’s murder trial took a turn for the serious and bizarre this afternoon. 

Morgan County State’s Attorney Chris Reif recalled Jacksonville Police Detective Brad Rogers to the stand this afternoon. Rogers testified to the events leading up to the first of 35-year-old Ronald Richardson’s two video-taped statements on the incident, and then the first hour of that two-and-a-half hour tape was played for the 12-person jury. 

The recording featured Richardson telling Rogers his initial story of how the incident took place, including the suspect’s account of seeing someone sleeping in the alleyway shortly after a drug deal with the victim, 19-year-old Shawnskie Patterson of Jacksonville, took place.

Richardson then changed his character when Rogers told him he was a suspect in Patterson’s murder, telling the detective he wanted to speak with his wife before talking anymore. Richardson had been in the room alone for nearly 50 minutes when Morgan County Judge Rich Mitchell took a recess for the day.

The afternoon session also featured a number of Illinois State Police forensic experts who handled Richardson’s clothing, the alleged murder weapon and Patterson’s autopsy.

Richardson is charged with three counts of first degree murder in the stabbing death of Patterson, whose body was found between Richardson’s apartment building and the Community Counseling Center next door on February 14th, 2009.

An autopsy revealed Patterson died of multiple stab wounds, a four-inch cut to the right side of Patterson’s chest and a two-inch gash to his back.

Eight witnesses were called in the morning session.

The parade included four men who came into contact with Richardson at his apartment complex the night of the alleged incident. Twenty-six year old Matt Rednour, 24-year-old Scott Ingram, 25-year-old Thomas Moore and 24-year-old Brad Probst all told Reif that Richardson entered the West State apartment that they were in uninvited, and all four testified that Richardson asked for $14 in gas money to get out of town.

Richardson, at times in the afternoon session, seemed uncomfortable and anxious. His emotions surfaced during two separate occasions, as the defendant first mounted several personal photographs on his desk for the jury to see. Mitchell immediately asked Richardson to take them down.

The second such incident took place as Richardson handed Reif up to 15 hand-drawn pictures including some of a man and his family, a pregnant woman and even one of Santa Claus.

Day three of the proceedings begins at 9 a.m.